Semicollared Hawk

About the Semicollared Hawk

The semicollared hawk (Microspizias collaris) is a rare bird of prey species in the family Accipitridae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is potentially being affected by habitat loss.

Formerly placed in the genus Accipiter, it is the sister species of the tiny hawk (M. superciliosus). The latter was thought to be the only species in Accipiter yet studied which has a large procoracoid foramen. The collaris-superciliosus superspecies also differs from the typical sparrowhawks in other respects of its anatomy and as regards DNA sequence. Consequently, the old genus Hieraspiza may be more appropriate for them. In 2021, a phylogenetic study found it and the semicollared hawk to form a distinct group from the rest of Accipiter, that is sister to Kaupifalco. For this reason, both were reclassified into the new genus Microspizias.

It was formerly thought that the Accipiter collaris formed a superspecies with "A." superciliosus, but it was recently shown that A. superciliosus might not belong in the Accipiter genus. This called into question the traits of defining features of the Accipiter... Wikipedia →